Six Weeks in Taipei

Posted by Flip on Jul 13, 2011 in Blog, Southeast Asia 2011 | 9 comments

It has been quite some time since we updated our blog with travel notes. Sara and I have spent the last six weeks or so in Taipei, Taiwan where our younger daughter was going to school to learn Chinese. We had lots of local adventures, but also worked on a few projects quite a bit, so it really wasn’t much of a vacation. I did come to realize that I very much love Taipei and want to move there someday.

We stayed with Sara’s family and really want to express our thanks for an incredible experience. We did not write anything about this part of the trip for a few reasons. The biggest was that we just did not have time. Things were always quite hectic and the little down time that we had was spent relaxing. Another big reason is that we do actually plan on living in Taipei for a few years at some point down the road. I have a lot of good ideas for blog posts, but I want to save them for when we actually live there. It is such an incredible country that it is my goal to build the best Taiwan blog out there. I don’t want to do a half-assed job, and there is so much to write.

It is nice to have such inside knowledge of a country as we do with Taiwan. Sara’s family lives there now and her sister, Sophia (whom we have written about several times before) knows all of the best restaurants and other activities throughout Taipei and most of Taiwan. She shared much of that knowledge with us on this trip and we really did have an amazing time.

Our daughter, Ender, is really picking up Chinese and I even learned a handful of words (even some written characters). I think I could do a series of posts on learning Chinese…it’s pretty freaking difficult. I did surprise everyone in the car (including myself) one night when I read a sign with five Chinese characters on it as we passed by. Only a few thousand more to learn and I’ll blend right in…except for the height thing. I tend to stick up above everyone else (but other than that, I blend).

One thing I do want to mention is how good the food is. I can say that I am fully adapted to Taiwanese cuisine. In the whole six weeks, we only ate at one Western restaurant: Outback Steakhouse, but we went there for Sunday brunch, so I had a Denny’s style breakfast!?! Since I had already been to McDonald’s in Taiwan on several past visits, I didn’t even go there (I try to visit McDonald’s in every country). A large portion of our upcoming Taiwan blog will be about food and all of the good restaurants from which to choose. A quick reveal, though, what is my favorite? Din Tai Fung. It is famous for its steamed buns and it is unbeatable. For a quick meal on the go, though, grab a rice-ball from 7Eleven.

The last thing is to thank Sara’s parents, Michael and Michelle, her sister, Sophia, and brother-in-law, Daniel, for everything they did for us over the last six weeks. It had to be difficult to let us into their home, disrupting their normal routines. We really do appreciate it and hope that we can return the favor someday. A special thanks to Daniel for loaning me half of his wardrobe!

Last September, Sara and I had a life changing experience with our good friends Charles and Vina on the Trans-Siberian Railroad (yes, we still have to finish that story). This summer we continued down that path by living (albeit short-term) in another country. Now, we have embarked on the next stage…Southeast Asia for a month. To be continued…

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